Now Commenting On:

Suzuki's amazing play not lost in defeat

Suzuki's amazing play not lost in defeat

By Jane Lee
/
MLB.com |

SEATTLE -- Despite wanting to quickly put to rest a rather dull offensive night that led to Tuesday's 3-0 loss, the A's couldn't easily forget a play made by catcher Kurt Suzuki in the seventh inning that brought to mind Oakland's ongoing string of impressive defensive ways.

With one out and the Mariners' Chone Figgins on second base, A's reliever Brad Ziegler threw a wide pitch to Suzuki, who flashed quick instincts while lunging at the ball before recovering to toss out Figgins at third.

"It was a really bad slider," Ziegler said. "I just jerked it real bad, and I don't even know how he caught it, then to have the wherewithal to get up and make the throw is incredible."

Oakland third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff planted himself perfectly at the bag in anticipation of the throw, which barely arrived in time to get the speedy Figgins.

"From my angle, I don't think there's another catcher in baseball who makes that play," manager Bob Geren said. "He literally dove for a ball that, 99 percent out of the time, is going toward the backstop. And then he recovered to throw a perfect strike to get Figgins. That was flat-out amazing.

"If we win the game, that was the game-winning play. But we didn't score any runs, so I don't know if you see that play in a highlight film or not, but it certainly should be."

The gem came just five days after Suzuki recorded an equally flashy out against the Mariners in Oakland, where the A's catcher chased a foul ball hit high in the air off the bat of Jose Lopez into the visiting dugout, landing on the steps with the ball in his glove.